JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Three northeast Florida counties top educators are working together in an effort to get parents to "Be There" for their children.

The school superintendents from Duval, Clay and Nassau counties came together Friday to kick off the campaign aimed at getting families involved in the education process.

"It is so very important for all of us to 'be there' for our children," said Clay County Superintendent Ben Wortham. "We can do this by making their home environment an extension of the classroom."

Educators said that parent involvement is essential to success in the classroom. The program's goals are to improve student achievement through increased family involvement, support educators by making it easier for parents to become effective partners and show families that simple connections with children make a difference.

Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals said there are plenty of ways parents can made a difference in their child's education.

"Research has shown that there is a direct relationship between student success and a consistent, positive relationship with parents," Pratt-Dannals said. "Parental involvement in our schools is essential, and the Be There campaign is an additional tool to ensure academic achievement."

Research by The Parent Institute had six key findings:

1. The family provides the child's primary educational environment.
2. Involving parents in their children's formal education improves student achievement.
3. High scoring schools and districts have high levels of parent involvement.
4. The benefits last a lifetime, and they are not confined to early childhood or the elementary level; there are strong effects from involving parents continuously through middle and high school.
5. Minorities have the most to gain. Children from low-income and minority families benefit greatly when schools involve parents. Parents do not have to be well educated to help.
6. School and home are connected. We cannot look at the school and the home in isolation from one another; we must see how they interconnect with each other and with the world at large.

The campaign will use brochures, posters and messages on Channel 4 and News4Jax.com to get the word out to parents of things they can to do help their children reach their full potential.

Channel 4 and Domino’s Pizza are partners in the Be There campaign.